JPH10320085A - Portable information terminal equipment and starting method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save energy by setting the program selection area of a touch panel as a system activation area and activating a system only at the time of pressurizing the set area for more than prescribed time. SOLUTION: When a user pressurizes the touch panel 14 of a prescribed coordinate by utilizing a touch pen 18, in a touch panel coordinate recognition part 202, whether or not the coordinate value of a starting area which is the program selection area of the touch panel 14 is pressurized is recognized. In a touch panel pressurization time check part 204, whether or not the pressurization time of the touch panel 14 is more than stipulated time is checked. In a control part 206, when an input signal is the coordinate value of the set starting area of the touch panel 14 and the pressurization time is more than the stipulated time, a power supply part 208 is controlled and control is performed so as to supply power to the system. That is, in the state where this portable information terminal equipment is OFF, when the program selection area of the touch panel 14 is pressurized for more than the prescribed time, the portable information terminal equipment is activated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a portable information terminal, and more particularly, to a portable information terminal having a touch panel and a method of starting the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Portable information terminals often use software-based switching means rather than hardware-based switching means to start a system. The software switching means activates the system by using a touch pen to press an area corresponding to predetermined coordinates on a touch panel (TSP) that covers the liquid crystal screen section and the program selection screen section. On the other hand, to turn off the system, a "turn off" command is applied through the touch panel during use.

[0003] Conventional information terminals using software-based switching means are often as follows. That is, in the first case, an area as small as an icon image (about 50 * 50 pixels) is set as the system start area in the program selection area of the touch panel, and in the second case, the entire touch panel is set as the system start area. . However, in the first case, the starting area of the system is small, and care must be taken for accurate selection by the user. In the second case, when the product is put in a bag, the protective cover of the touch panel and the touch panel And that the pen is being depressed and the pen is being pressed, causing unnecessary power consumption.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been devised to solve the above-mentioned problem. A program selection area of a touch panel is set as a system activation area, and the set area is set for a predetermined time. It is an object to provide a portable information terminal that activates the system only when pressed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for starting the portable information terminal.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a liquid crystal display according to the present invention, a program selection screen for selecting a predetermined program, and the liquid crystal display and the program selection screen are covered. A portable information terminal using a touch panel having a liquid crystal screen area and a program selection area corresponding to these screen sections as input means, the program selection area of the touch panel is set to a predetermined value when the portable information terminal is turned off. The portable information terminal may include a starting unit that starts the portable information terminal when pressed for more than a time.

In the present invention, the starter includes a touch panel coordinate recognizing section for recognizing whether a coordinate value of the touch panel of the starter has been pressed, and whether the coordinates recognized from the touch panel coordinate recognizer have been pressed for a predetermined time. A touch panel pressing time check unit for confirming, and inputting a signal output from the touch panel coordinate recognizing unit and the touch panel pressing time checking unit as an input, a coordinate value of a start area is pressed, and the time during which the coordinate value is pressed is set. And a control unit for controlling to supply power to the portable information terminal only when the time is longer than a predetermined time.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal display corresponding to the liquid crystal display according to the present invention and a program selection screen, wherein a touch panel for covering the liquid crystal display and the program selection screen is provided with input means; A method of starting the portable information terminal includes a step of generating an interrupt signal by pressing a touch panel of the program selection screen unit in a stop mode state of the portable information terminal, and a step of generating the interrupt signal. Determining the coordinate value of the touch panel touched by the pen, providing information that the pen has been pressed and information of the pressed coordinate value, and determining whether the provided information is a coordinate value within a predetermined area. A first determining step of determining whether a predetermined time has elapsed, and a first determining step of determining whether a predetermined time has elapsed, and the first and second determining steps. Result is characterized in that it comprises a step of supplying the full to the power supply the default condition.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1A is a view showing a portable information terminal according to the present invention. 10 is a liquid crystal screen part of the portable information terminal, 12 is a program selection screen part adjacent to the liquid crystal screen part 10, 14 is a touch panel mounted so as to cover the liquid crystal screen part 10 and the program selection screen part 12, Reference numeral 18 denotes a touch pen for selecting a desired position on the touch panel, reference numeral 20 denotes a pen holder for storing the touch pen 18, and reference numeral 22 denotes a protective cover for protecting the touch panel 14.

FIG. 1B shows a liquid crystal screen portion shown in FIG.
10 is a detailed view of the program selection screen section 12 and the touch panel 14, and includes a liquid crystal screen frame 10a and a program selection screen section.
12, and a program selection icon sticker is attached on the program selection screen section 12. Next, the LCD screen
The touch panel 14 is installed so as to cover the icon stickers 10 and the program selection screen section 12. The touch panel 14 is divided into a liquid crystal screen area 14a covering the liquid crystal screen section 10 and a program selection area 14b covering the program selection screen section 12.

In the portable information terminal of the present invention, when the system is in the stop mode, the program selection area 14 of the touch panel is displayed.
b is a system start area, but is an area for selecting a program when the system is in a normal mode. That is, image icon display stickers matching the characteristics of the program are set and attached to the program selection screen section 12 as different coordinate values, so that a necessary icon is selected and the program is started.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the starting device in the portable information terminal shown in FIG. The starting device shown in FIG. 2 is an input unit 20 including a pen 18 and a touch panel 14.
0, a touch panel coordinate recognizing unit 202 that recognizes whether the touch panel 14 in the system start area is pressed, a touch panel pressing time checking unit 204 that determines whether a pressing time of the coordinates recognized by the touch panel coordinate recognizing unit 202 has passed a predetermined time, If the signal output from the touch panel coordinate recognition unit 202 is a signal when the start area of the touch panel is pressed, and if the signal output from the touch panel pressing time check unit 204 is a signal when the time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, the power is supplied to the system. And a control unit 206 for controlling a power supply unit 208 for supplying the power.

Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 will be described. When the user presses the touch panel with predetermined coordinates using the touch pen 18, the touch panel coordinate recognizing unit 202 recognizes whether or not the coordinate value of the starting area of the touch panel has been pressed. The touch panel pressing time check unit 204 checks whether the touch panel pressing time is longer than a predetermined time. The control unit 206 controls the power supply unit 208 so that power is supplied to the system if the input signal is a coordinate value of the set start area of the touch panel.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining a series of processing steps when an external interrupt occurs from the normal mode to the stop mode and from the stop mode in the portable information terminal according to the present invention. First, a booting operation performed when power is first applied to the system, that is, various components of the system are initialized (operation 300). According to the result of the 300 steps, the normal mode indicating the operation state of the system at the time of general use is set (302). It is determined whether a condition for the system to enter the stop mode has been generated (operation 304). Here, the conditions for the stop mode are as follows.
If the user selects the system turn-off menu,
The second is whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed without any input, and the third is whether or not a serious condition of the system (for example, a sharp decrease in battery voltage) has occurred. As soon as the condition of step 304 is generated, the system is turned off (step 306). Here, the liquid crystal screen is turned off, the operation mode of the system is changed to the power saving mode, and the power supply to other components is turned off. That is, a stop mode is set (step 308). Thereafter, when an external interrupt occurs (step 310), the system performs an analysis for the interrupt and turns on the system (step 312) to maintain the normal mode (302).
Step), and keep the stop mode (Step 308). That is, in the normal mode, the components of the system are driven as needed, and the user can use the system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a process performed when a pen interrupt is generated according to an embodiment of the generation of the external interrupt shown in FIG. When the system is in the stop mode, the user presses the coordinates of the activation area of the touch panel using the touch pen to generate a pen interrupt (operation 400). When a pen interrupt of 400 steps is generated, a coordinate value at which the pen is pressed is obtained (step 402), and information that the pen is pressed and information of the pressed coordinate value are provided to the control means (step 404). ).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the flow of the power management module operated using the information provided through the flowchart shown in FIG. In a standby state for receiving information from the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 (step 500), it is determined whether the received information is interrupt information by a pen input in a stop mode state (step 502). 502
If the result of the step determination is that the information does not satisfy the condition, another applicable processing procedure proceeds (step 512). The other processing procedures are not related to the present invention, and thus the description is omitted. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step 502 is that the condition is satisfied, it is determined whether the coordinates at which the pen is pressed are the coordinate values of the starting area of the predetermined touch panel (step 504), and it is determined whether the pen is continuously pressed (506). Stages). If the conditions of steps 504 and 506 are satisfied, it is determined whether the pressing time of the touch panel has exceeded a predetermined time (step 508). As a result of the determination in step 508, if the condition is satisfied, the power supply means of the system is turned on (step 510). If the conditions of steps 504, 506 and 508 are not satisfied, the apparatus returns to the information reception standby state (step 500).

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the program selection area of the touch panel is used as the start area of the system, selection for starting the system is easy, and the start area of the touch panel is pressed for a certain time. By supplying power to the system, it is possible to prevent the system from being turned on in a state not desired by the user, which contributes to energy saving.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a portable information terminal according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a detailed diagram of a liquid crystal screen, a program selection screen, and a touch panel shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a starting device in the portable information terminal shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation mode switching process between a normal mode and a stop mode in the portable information terminal according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed when a pen interrupt occurs according to an embodiment of the external interrupt generation shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of a power management module operated using information provided through the flowchart shown in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 touch panel 18 pen 200 input unit 202 touch panel coordinate recognition unit 204 touch panel pressing time check unit 206 control unit 208 power supply unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal screen, a program selection screen for selecting a predetermined program, a liquid crystal screen area and a program selection area which cover the liquid crystal screen and the program selection screen. A portable information terminal having a touch panel as an input means, wherein the portable information terminal is activated when a program selection area of the touch panel is pressed for a predetermined time or more in a state where the portable information terminal is turned off. A portable information terminal, comprising a starting unit for causing the portable information terminal to operate. 2. The touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the start unit includes a touch panel coordinate recognizing unit that recognizes whether a coordinate value of the touch panel of the start unit is pressed, and whether a coordinate recognized by the touch panel coordinate recognize unit is pressed for a predetermined time. A touch panel pressing time check unit for confirming, a signal output from the touch panel coordinate recognizing unit and the touch panel pressing time checking unit is input, a coordinate value of a start area is pressed, and the time for pressing the coordinate value is set. The portable information terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit configured to control so as to supply power to the portable information terminal only when the time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. 3. A method for starting a portable information terminal, comprising: a liquid crystal display corresponding to a liquid crystal display; and a program selection screen, wherein a touch panel covering the liquid crystal display and the program selection screen is used as an input means. In the stop mode of the portable information terminal, a step of generating an interrupt signal by pressing a touch panel of the program selection screen unit, and when the interrupt signal is generated, a coordinate value of the touch panel pressed by a pen. And providing information that the pen has been pressed and information of the pressed coordinate value; a first determining step of determining whether the provided information is a coordinate value within a predetermined area; A second determining step of determining whether a predetermined time has elapsed, and a power supply when the results of the first and second determining steps satisfy a predetermined condition. Supplying a portable information terminal.